ImportIng Workers, exportIng strAWberrIes

40 Pages·2012·1.16 MB·English

ImportIng Workers,
exportIng strAWberrIes
Working Conditions on strawberry Farms
in the Huelva province (spain)
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January 2012
N°578a
2 / Titre du rapport – FIDH
Summary ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
The FIDH fact-finding mission ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6
Part I: General context: The development of strawberry farming in Huelva ------------------- 7
Part II: The legal framework ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 15
Part III: Seasonal workers: alarming working conditions ---------------------------------------- 23
Conclusion and recommendations -------------------------------------------------------------------29
Appendix 1: List of people met by the mission -----------------------------------------------------32
Appendix 2: Examples of contracts ------------------------------------------------------------------33
Appendix 3: Undertaking to return -------------------------------------------------------------------35
FIDH – Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) / 3
Summary
In the province of Huelva, located in the south-western part of the autonomous region of Andalusia,
intensive farming of strawberries, destined to supply European markets early in the season, calls for
a large temporary work force for a period of several months. Some 50,000 seasonal workers, mainly
foreign migrant workers, are employed on the farms each year.
To meet labour needs and regulate migratory flows, the Spanish government has created a system
whereby workers are recruited in their countries of origin (contratación en origen). Thousands of
workers are recruited in their countries of origin and transported to the farms where they work until
the end of the strawberry season. Workers commit to returning to their respective countries at the end
of their contracts. With the entry of Poland, Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union, hiring in
countries of origin is now limited to Moroccan female workers. This system has been presented as
exemplary of the advantages of circular migration, a model promoted by European Union institutions
as way of meeting European labour needs, while ensuring that migrants do not remain to reside in
the EU.
Hiring in countries of origin, when added to a legal framework that provides little protection for
seasonal farm workers in Andalusia, has led to the violation of workers’ rights.
Workers are not guaranteed a minimum income as non worked days are not paid for, which can be
high in number due to the fact that strawberry picking is dependent on appropriate weather conditions
and that disproportionately large numbers of workers are hired to meet needs over the whole season.
Current rules for trade union representation completely exclude seasonal workers because the latter
are unable to fulfil seniority requirements.
The FIDH fact-finding mission also brought to light highly variable accommodation conditions
(usually reserved for migrant workers), a recurrent problem being that most living facilities are
located relatively far from urban centres and there is no transport system available. FIDH has specific
concerns about the working and living conditions of Moroccan women who are hired on the basis
of discriminatory selection criteria, do not generally speak Spanish and are consequently entirely
dependent on their employer, on whom they rely for the possibility to return for another season of
work in Spain. Moreover, as employment contracts do not specify termination dates, they can be
cancelled at any time, resulting in workers risking being sent back to their home countries since their
rights of residence are tied to their employment.
In this report, FIDH addresses a series of recommendations to the Spanish authorities with the aim of
strengthening protection for seasonal farm workers, increasing and reinforcing workplace inspections,
and providing better social support for migrants. FIDH also calls upon Spanish authorities to ratify the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and the Members
of Their Families. In recommendations addressed to the Moroccan government, FIDH recommends
including trade unions in the tripartite commission that oversees recruitment in Morocco and calls
for the elimination of discriminatory recruitment criteria.
Finally FIDH addresses some recommendations to businesses, both the farmers themselves and
buyers, in particular mass retailers who should ensure that their suppliers comply with human rights
standards.
4 / Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) – FIDH
Introduction

The development of intensive farming in Spain corresponds roughly to the time of Spain’s entry
in the European Union (1985-1986) and with its passage from being a country of emigration to
one of immigration. After a long period as a country of emigration, Spain has now become the
leading European destination for immigrants. Because of its geographic location Spain plays a
major role, in particular as a border guard, in EU migration policy.
In 2008, Spain was the second largest country in the EU in terms of usable farm area (25.6
million hectares), behind France (28.3 million hectares), and fourth in terms of the number of
farms (1.2 million). Spain wants to be a major agricultural power on the common European
market and strives to remain competitive. Immigrant labour,1 in particular seasonal or temporary
labour and increasingly female labour, is one way of remaining competitive.
One the pillars of Spanish agriculture is strawberry production. Strawberries are mainly
farmed in the province of Huelva (Andalusia), where they represent 50% of final agricultural
production.2 Strawberry farming is labour intensive for several months every year. Today, the
vast majority of these farm workers are migrants.
In order to provide the necessary labour force and regulate migrant flows within its borders –
in other words to stem irregular immigration – Spain promotes the use of temporary migrant
labour through a mechanism referred to as contratación en origen. We have translated this as
“hiring in country of origin” for the purposes of this report. This model for circular migration is
promoted by the EU. It is described as a triple gain, providing satisfaction to all parties: the host
country benefits from the migrants it needs, when and where they are needed, without having
to worry about their social integration in the long term. The country of origin benefits from the
employment opportunities provided to their nationals and from their remittances. The migrant
worker receives employment, an income, and is allowed to work legally in the host country.
The aim of the model is to encourage migrants to move continuously back and forth between
host and home country. The promotion of this model goes hand in hand with an increase in the
restrictions on movement and permanent residency within the destination country. Since 2007,
the European Commission “suggests setting up mobility partnerships and organising circular
migration to facilitate the movement of third-country nationals between their countries and the
European Union (EU). The mechanisms would alleviate the labour shortage in the EU, check
the phenomenon of illegal immigration and allow the countries of origin to benefit from the
positive impacts of emigration”.3 Aside from the clear advantages for businesses and States,
what human rights guarantees does this model provide to seasonal workers?
1. In 2000, the percentage of foreign-born residents in Spain stood at 4.9%. In 2008, that number stood at 14.1 %(OCDE,
International migration outlook 2010, p. 240); 48% of this segment of the population were women. Most of them work as
domestic helpers, care providers, or in the hospitality or garment industry, and in agriculture. (see Anuario de estadisticas
del Ministerio de trabajo e immigracion, 2010, in particular Trabajadores extranjeros afiliados a la Seguridad Social en alta
laboral, según sexo, por sector y división de actividad).
2. See, “La fresa de Huelva” (“The Huelva Strawberry”), Hotrticom News, 02/04/2008, available from: http://www.horticom.
com/pd/article.php?sid=70113
3. Commission Communication of 16 May 2007, the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee
of the Regions on circular migration and mobility partnerships between the EU and third countries COM (2007) 248 final
(not published in the Official Journal), available from: .http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/justice_freedom_security/free_
movement_of_persons_asylum_immigration/l14564_fr.htm; also see, Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions , “The Dialogue
for Migration, Mobility and Security with the Southern Mediterranean Countries”, 24 May 2011, COM(2011) 292 final.
FIDH – Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) / 5
The FIDH fact-finding
mission
The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) commissioned a fact-finding mission to the
southern Spanish province of Huelva in Andalusia between 2 and 6 May 2011. The mission objective
was to assess working conditions on strawberry farms in the region and specifically respect for the
rights of seasonal migrant workers who constitute the vast majority of the agricultural workforce.
The environmental problems caused by intensive strawberry farming in the Huelva region,
including the depletion of water resources, poor water quality in the industrial area, the use of
pesticides and related health risks are issues which fall outside the current report.
The following persons carried out the mission:
- Ouafae Ben Abdennebi, project officer, the Committee of the Moroccan Community Abroad
(Conseil de la Communauté Marocaine à l’Etranger)
- Alain Morice, Research Director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)
(Université Paris-Diderot).
- Elin Wrzoncki, head of the Globalisation and Human Rights Desk at FIDH’s International Secretariat.
The fact-finding mission was, in part, carried out in the framework of the collaborative endeavour
between FIDH and the French mass retailer, Carrefour. The Carrefour Group and FIDH have been
collaborating4 on issues related to respect for human rights in their supply chain since 2000. Within this
framework, FIDH has carried out various fact-finding missions specifically related to human rights in
the workplace in garment factories in Southeast Asia. Under this arrangement, which allows FIDH to
visit the premises of Carrefour’s suppliers, FIDH was able to visit the production sites of the members
of various cooperatives that supply Carrefour and other buyers. FIDH also visited other farms in Spain
located in Palos de la Frontera, Moguer, and Cartaya; and interviewed farmers and workers from
different countries, both within and outside their workplaces and living facilities. FIDH met with the
principal Spanish trade unions: La Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), La Unión
General de Trabajadores (UGT). FIDH also met with El Sindicato de los Obreros del Campo (SOC),
which has become part of Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores (SAT). FIDH met with the members of
NGOs and the social services of various municipalities located in the province of Huelva, as well as
the Guardia civil brigade in charge of providing assistance to migrants (EDATI). FIDH also met a
Professor of economics at Huelva University and a Ph.D student working on labour migration.
The FIDH supplemented the information obtained in the field with further research. An
exhaustive list of persons met by FIDH has been annexed to this report. FIDH was not able to
meet with the following:
- the main employers associations (Freshuelva, ASAJA, and COAG)5
- the Sub-delegation for the Government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia
(Subdelegación del gobierno, Junta de Andalucia), and
- the labour inspectorate (Inspección del trabajo).
Whilst members of the mission were able to obtain detailed information from Freshuelva, no
response was given to the questions addressed to the Junta de Andalucia and the occupational
labour inspectorate.
4. In particular through the joint association between FIDH and Carrefour, called INFANS.
5. ASAJA: Asociación Agraria de Jóvenes Agricultores ; Freshuelva : Asociacion Onubense de Productores y Exportadores
de Fresas; COAG: Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Agricultores y Ganaderos.
6 / Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) – FIDH
Part I: General context:
The development
of strawberry farming
in Huelva
The intensive farming in southern Spain, also known as the “California Model”, exposes farmers
to the simultaneous effects of intensified production processes, increased competition between
units of production and the transformation of distribution systems. The model leads to spatial
and temporal market expansion and a reduction in prices paid to producers – a phenomenon that
French farmers have termed, “the dictum of mass retail”.
A significant, but unpredictable, need for workers
Intensive farming, in particular, requires a much larger labour force than that locally available,
especially during the relatively short period set aside for picking. This labour force must be
mobilised almost instantaneously as picking periods can vary according to the whims of nature
and the market. The size of the workforce required is equally difficult to predict before picking
time. The Spanish government has stated that it wishes to call exclusively upon national workers,
and regional authorities confirm that workers are only recruited from abroad if the Spanish
employment market is not able to provide. According to Manuel Bago, the central government
deputy-delegate for Huelva: “It is a reserve contingent so that farmers do not find themselves
with a shortage of labour during key periods of increased production and can continue their
normal activity.”6 However, even during a period of high unemployment, as was the case in
Spain in 2009, the introduction of seasonal foreign workers remained high. Indeed, a number of
farmers consider that these workers work better than Spaniards.
Difficulties in planning labour needs in terms of numbers and timing, encourage groups of
producers to establish a reserve of surplus foreign workers. This practice i maintains foreign
workers in an irregular status and contributes to the development of hidden and precarious
forms of employment.
Since the mid 1980s, Andalusia has seen the massive development of market gardening in
particular in the province of Almeria, notorious for the race riots targeting agricultural labourers
from Morocco in February 2000. The spread of greenhouses (called “tunnels”) earned that
province the nickname, “the plastic sea” and several reports have revealed the poor working
and living conditions of populations employed in this sector. These workers have fallen prey
to the hostility of residents and often work without being declared. They are often clandestine
arrivals from Morocco which has been the source of a windfall for unscrupulous employers for a
long time. After the riots in the winter of 2000, several fact-finding missions were conducted on
site, including by purchasers. Less than a year later, a vehicle carrying undocumented workers
collided with a train on a level crossing near Murcia. The vehicle was designed to carry eight
people; the press revealed that its fourteen passengers (twelve of whom died) were Ecuadorian
workers, all without papers or contracts, except for the driver. In defence of the victims’
6. Interview with Manuel Bago, in the Freshuelva Bulletin N°15, July 2011.
FIDH – Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) / 7
employer, farmers associations argued that long and rigorous bureaucratic legal procedures
concerning the recruitment of foreign workers forced them to resort to illegal employment.
This tragedy, the riots of 2000, and the protests of foreign workers calling for regularisation
marked the beginning of the 21st century. They are not alien to the development of the bilateral
contractual system which has marked the next decade.
Strawberry farming in Huelva
In the West of the autonomous community of Andalusia, part of the province of Huelva, an old
mining and industrial zone at the Portuguese border, specialises in strawberry farming. Here, a
robust Californian strawberry variety, the Camarosa, was replanted, chosen less for its quality
of taste than for its early cycle, and its resistance. Cropping choices are largely determined by
farmers’ desires to be the first on the European market i.e. before spring starts, thus benefiting
from a comparative advantage vis-a-vis producers further north. Today, other strawberry varieties
are being developed, such as the Candonga, a tastier indigenous (hybrid) creation. Strawberries
are grown on over 6,000 hectares, and production is between 240 and 270 thousand tonnes per
year.7 85% of the strawberries grown in Huelva are exported to other European countries, in
7. Junta de Andalucía, Estadisticas agrarias « superficies y producción» [“Areas and Production” Agrarian Statistics], June
2011.
8 / Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) – FIDH
particular, to France (30%), Germany (33%) and increasingly to countries further afield. Spain
is therefore the world’s number one exporter of strawberries, and the world’s second largest
producer of strawberries behind the US.8
To ensure an early cycle, plants are created in vitro and placed in fridges before being replanted
on sandy mounds. These mounds were treated with methyl bromide until 2007 (when this
practice was banned), covered with black plastic and irrigated, using water, fertilizers, pesticides
and fungicides. At the end of maturation and in hot periods, substantial quantities of water
are required, and pickers must wear boots. Ventilation is manual (by winding side skirts), but
under the plastic in the early hours of the afternoon heat is excessive. Just south of Palos de la
Frontera, greenhouses for hydroponic farming are being tested next to the tunnels. In principle,
this method allows for year round farming. Strawberry growers from Huelva boast that over
70% of their strawberries are produced in an integrated manner (integrated agriculture). This
standard, promoted by the Junta de Andalucía, unlike intensive farming, allegedly encourages
the use of organic, rather than chemical, farming methods. Moreover, as nearly 90% of the
strawberries are exported to Europe, quality and environmental standards are relatively strict.
Many farms have begun to diversify by growing (or shift to exclusively growing) raspberries
and blueberry shrubs – Canadian blueberries are grown for the North American market. In
municipalities west of Huelva (Cartaya, Lepe), these crops are often combined with the tree
and vine growing; to the east, from Palos in Lucena and Mazagón, cultivation is dominated
by greenhouse crops. During our visit in early May 2011, the market for strawberries was on
the verge of saturation through over-production; the crop year was to be completed before the
possible collapse of producer prices, which had hitherto remained very favourable.
Some small (4 or 5 ha) and larger (25 to 30 ha) farms are grouped into cooperatives. Agricultural
cooperatives usually pool the functions of sorting, packing and transporting strawberries. The
cooperatives themselves are grouped into producer associations of which the most important
are Freshuelva (75 associate businesses of which 67 are in the strawberry sector), ASAJA,
COAG, and UPA.
The economic benefits of growing strawberries, also called “red gold”, are very important to
the Huelva region, especially during acute economic crisis such as that experienced in Spain
since 2009. This crisis has particularly affected the region. Following the collapse of the
construction sector, agriculture is seen as one of the only sectors generating jobs and resources.
It is estimated that between 50,000 to 80,000 people are employed in this sector in a crop year,9
and the revenues generated by strawberry farming in the region amounts to approximately 240
to 250 million Euros a year.10 Indeed, the strawberry is everywhere in Huelva – it is visible on
huge billboards extolling its virtues as you enter every municipality. This partly explains the
nervousness of players when faced with criticism of the practices of Huelvan farmers. Thus,
this FIDH mission has been interpreted by some as an attempt to undermine the image of the
strawberry in the region. Several of those met by the FIDH mission recounted the disastrous
effect of a French TV documentary, entitled ‘The price of strawberries’. It led to the launch of
a PR campaign by Spanish strawberry producers, aimed specifically at the French media to
restore a positive image of the Huelva strawberry.11
8. See Consejeria de Agricultura, Junta de Andalusica, Cadena de valor de la fresa. Campaña 2008/09, October 2010, available
at: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/agriculturaypesca/portal/export/sites/default/comun/galerias/galeriaDescargas/cap/servicio-
estadisticas/Estudios-e-informes/agricultura/cultivos-horticolas/fresa/EMYC_FRESA_0809_def.pdf.
9. Freshuelva estimate approximately 50,000 people. Other sources indicate approximately 80,000 people.
10. See Junta de Andalucia, Análisis de los ingresos del sector fresero de Huelva en la campaña 2006/2007, (Analysis of
Revenue from Strawberry Farming in Huelva for the 2006/2007 crop year) For the 2009/2010 crop year, see Análisis de la
Campaña del sector Hortofrutícola de Huelva 2009/10 (Analysis of Revenue from the Huelva Horticultural Sector for the
2009/10 Crop Year), reported by Fundación Cajamar.
11. See Junta de Andalucia, Agricultura muestra en París los “verdaderos” métodos de producción de la fresa onubense,
(Agriculture shows the “true” methods of production of the Huelva strawberry) 30/03/2010.
FIDH – Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) / 9
The development of Moroccan affiliates
Andalusian farmers will increasingly be called upon to complain about “unfair competition”
from Moroccan exports, destined almost entirely for European countries (including Spain,
Germany, France and the United Kingdom). The wage differential between Morocco and Spain
is significant: an entire day’s work pays approximately 38 euros in Huelva (in theory, at least),
and less than five euros (5.5 Dirhams) in Morocco. However, some Andalusian farmers are
the very instigators of this competition. In fact, as the cost of labour is considered to be the
only adjustable factor, capital for agriculture tends to be invested in parallel into Moroccan
plantations, more hidden from view, and shielded from strict regulatory requirements and
labour laws. This relocation goes back over ten years, and today it has become significantly
broader: according to figures from the Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, at the end of 2009, 61
Andalusian companies were operating in Morocco, and producing 80% of their strawberries in
this country.12 This movement South also corresponds to the objective of early availability on
the European market. Strawberries produced in Morocco (or even Egypt) arrive on European
markets as early as January. One might question the very future of the Andalusian affiliate;
there is certainly concern that the existence of a dumping system at the gates of Europe does not
create very favourable conditions for a strict observance of the texts governing farm work.
The introduction of foreign workers
Law 7/1985 on the rights and freedoms of foreigners, passed when the Iberian Peninsula joined
the European Union, was in fact only a “policing” law hastily prepared to inform Member
States that Spain intended to get tough on border issues. In agriculture, at that time a relative
shortage of labour existed, due to poor conditions of pay and work in this sector. Workers from
Morocco made up the bulk of this deficit, but since the mid-1990s, farmers also began to look
toward Eastern Europe.
12. See «La mayoría de la fresa y el tomate de Marruecos está en manos andaluzas» (“The Majority of Marruecos’
Strawberries and Tomatoes are in Andalusian Hands”), El Pais, 21/06/2010, available from http://www.elpais.com/
articulo/andalucia/mayoria/fresa/tomate/Marruecos/manos/andaluzas/elpepuespand/20100621elpand_3/Tes.
10 / Working Conditions on Strawberry Farms in the Huelva Province (Spain) – FIDH